Greg Gianforte says Governor was “Called Out to Do His Job” Over Good Neighbor Authority

Montana Governor Steve Bullock and Gubernatorial rival Republican Greg Gianforte are now in agreement on the use of the Good Neighbor Authority provided in the U.S. Farm Bill, however, Gianforte says Bullock had to be "called out" on the issue.

The Good Neighbor Authority gives a state more leeway to work on lands managed by the federal government and it’s something Gianforte has been talking about for months. After hearing that Bullock signed Good neighbor authority paperwork this week, Gianforte had this to say.

'It's sad that we have to have a campaign to get [Steve Bullock] to do his job," Gianforte said. "The reality is that I think of the families in Columbia Falls and the other 500 families sitting down around the kitchen table with a cup of coffee trying to decide what they're going to do. We have families that are hurting. Montana is 50th in the country in wages... we need jobs, and we also need healthy forests."

Gianforte says this tool should have been put to use years ago.

"As the leader of the state, you need to be picking up all of the tools you can pick up and use them to the state's benefit," Gianforte said. The challenge here is why did it take so long to act, and why did I have to call him out to get him to do his job? I... I don't know exactly, but he is not leading the state in the way we need to be led."

With a series of mill closures over the past few years, forest management has been a major issue in the lives of many Montana families, especially in Western Montana, but the issue often takes a back to topics like coal and infrastructure. During the first Gubernatorial Debate no forest related questions were even asked.